GETTING ANGRY AT PEERS - ASSOCIATIONS WITH LIKING OF THE PROVOCATEUR

We examined bow preschoolers coped with anger in interactions with wel l liked and not well liked peers. The free-play interactions of presch ool-aged children (M age = 66.27 months) were observed for 6 months. T he frequency, causes, and intensity of children's anger, as well as th eir anger-related reactions, were compared for incidents provoked by p eers who were ''really liked'' to those provoked by peers who were lik ed only ''a little bit.'' Although there were no differences in the in tensity of anger provocations by well liked and not well liked provoca teurs, children's responses to provocations by well liked peers were m ore controlled than was the case for anger provoked by peers who were not well liked. In general, boys were more responsive to how they felt about the provocateur than were girls. These findings suggest that an ger episodes with well liked children were less stressful than those w ith peers who were not well liked.